Tips on How to Save Money “I have been meaning to buy these new wireless
headphones I saw on Amazon.
Listening to music while jogging would be so much easier!
If only I had extra money.”
“My neighbor is crazy.
I swear that human being was born specifically to haunt me and my sanity.
I need extra income so that I can move out of this place!”
“Did you see the vacation Lizzie and her family went on?
Those picturesque sunsets!
If only my husband earned as much as Lizzie’s does.”
Has any one of these thoughts ever crossed your mind?
Probably not, I mean, you are the kind of person who has enough money to do most of
the things that you need to, right?
Vacations once a year, a special night out every fortnight and if you want it, the newly-released
Samsung Fold?
But chances are that you are the kind of person who wished they had just a little extra to
buy that one thing they have been dreaming about for a while.
And either way, whether your second name is Rockefeller or a lesser-known alternative,
we all could use some more money.
In this video, I tell you how you can save more money, without necessarily needing to
make any more income.
These tips are for those who need to find a way to save on their expenses in order to
retain more money at the end of the day.
The Tips How to Save Money on Food
One of the most common ways to lose track of how much money you are spending is through
the purchase of food.
While most people budget for groceries and any foods they may need when around the house,
most of us don’t budget for snacking or any “little” meals we may consume throughout
the day.
To save on food, the first thing you should do is track all the money you spend on any
foods you may take throughout the day.
What did you have for lunch?
Write it down.
What did you purchase when you made a pit stop while on that road trip?
Write it down.
Do not forget to indicate how much it cost you.
Writing down helps you put your food expense in perspective, which basically means that
it is the easiest way to make yourself feel guilty for foods you may have avoided.
Secondly, carry packed lunch to work.
In comparison, carrying packed lunch is way cheaper than buying lunch, and the difference
can be up to half of the price.
So, for instance, it could cost you $5 to buy lunch but cost you $2.50.
In a year, you could save up to $500 just by carrying that brown bag to lunch.
With that money, it is very possible to move out of that house with the awful neighbor.
Planning your meals in advance, and budgeting appropriately for what is planned for is yet
another way to save money on food.
What are you most likely to eat every day, week or month?
The answer to this question gives you a shopping list that you can use when doing your grocery
shopping.
When you are shopping with a list, you are intentional.
Essentially, this means that there is little chance you will pick that chocolate bar off
the shelf, because it is not in your list.
Finally, you can save both time and money by doubling the meals you make when cooking.
If you are making dinner, the quantity should be enough such that the food is left over
for another meal, maybe your lunch the next day.
This ensures the efficient use of ingredients as the two meals are made with one batch of
them.
However, be sure to refrigerate the food that is left over to ensure that it doesn’t get
spoilt.
How to Save Money on Transportation Transportation is yet another area of spending
that uses up quite a big percentage of household incomes.
In 2017, almost 16 percent of incomes around the United States were spent on moving from
one place to another.
This percentage is quite high, especially considering that you could simply walk to
your destination without ever needing to spend a penny.
This is actually our first tip on saving money in transportation; take a walk when you can.
Some distances are short and don’t necessarily need you to get into your car and drive there.
If you can, try and shorten the distance from work and/or school to your house by moving
closer to them.
Alternatively, where the distance to work or to school is too long to walk, you can
instead cycle, but only when convenient.
What are the yearly payments that you make for your car insurance?
Are you getting an affordable deal or just the most convenient one?
Every year, before renewing your car insurance with your current insurer, check the rates
offered by competing companies.
Chances are, you could make savings on your insurance if you were not too lazy to see
if there are any viable alternatives.
To save on transportation costs, regularly maintain and service your car.
What you might not realize is that issues such as tires that have not been well-inflated
or an engine that has not been tuned use more fuel than one that has undergone these maintenance
services.
While the margin by which you save might look to be small in the moment, these savings could
add up to $1000 annually.
How to Save on Banking, Credit and Debt First, budget for any debt you have and pay
off your credit cards in full every month.
When budgeting for your income, assign between 10 and 15% to paying off any debts you may
have, including student loans and mortgages.
This ensures that each month, you are constantly reducing your debt.
Also, by fully paying off your credit cards, you don’t incur any rates that would lead
you to debt and cost you even more money.
Plus, you get to enjoy the cash back.
I hope that by now, you have a savings account, and if you don’t, you are walking to the
bank right now to get one.
Savings accounts are how you pay yourself, which should be done before you start spending
the money you earned.
Every month, it is recommended that you direct 10% to 15% of your income towards saving.
To make saving easier, give yourself a goal.
What would you really like to do?
Go for a safari, buy a new car, or get that ridiculously huge and expensive TV?
How much will you need to achieve your goal?
Also, as you try to get out of debt, you can use free debt counseling services on how you
can best do it.
Simply type “free debt counseling” on your search engine and explore the options
that you have.
These non-profit counselors can advise you on how best to budget in order to finish off
your debt, and how you can negotiate with creditors with regards to repaying their money.
Negotiating could ensure that you do not pay extreme interest rates, and budgeting for
the payment prevents you from getting into more debt as you attempt to get out of it.
How to Save on Family, Friends and Home Gift-giving is an expensive affair, which
is why it should be budgeted for and limits placed where necessary.
When you put a limit on how much can be spent on buying gifts and how many of them each
person can receive, you save a lot during the holidays.
Also, the most thoughtful gifts are not necessarily usually the most expensive ones.
So make sure you plan for special gifts, because I can promise you, guilt is one sure way to
spend quite a bit of money.
Most importantly, when you have decided to start a family, start saving for college and
any material needs the baby might need right from when they are born all through college.
It is never too early to start saving for that little one.
When purchasing clothes for your family, make sure that they are affordable without being
cheap.
In the long-run, it will cost you more to repair and regularly replace a garment than
it would to buy a quality alternative.
Quality clothes can be used over a long period of time, and could even be passed down to
other family members.
As for your home, first, ensure that you regularly maintain and clean it.
Doing this saves on expenses that you may incur in doing repairs for faults made by
the accumulation of dirt or the lack of maintenance.
Whenever possible, refinance your mortgage for lower interest rates.
Explore and find out whether it is possible for you to get an alternative lender for your
mortgage, preferably one who charges a lower interest rate.
The savings you make on reduced interest rates ensure that you accumulate home equity much
faster, which increases your ability to cover large emergency expenditures.
Finally, to save on your home, actively cut down on the energy you are using and use less
water when going about your duties.
To do this, cut down on any energy use that is obviously unnecessary or pointless.
For example, on hot days, before firing up the AC, open your windows to let air in and
determine if the cooling from the air is sufficient.
Low-flow showerheads and faucet aerators are some of the ways through which you can reduce
the amount of water you use in your home.
Other Saving Tips  Where possible, share resources.
While it might be more convenient to own your own pool, it is definitely cheaper to set
up a pool with neighbors.
And do you really need your own lawnmower?
 Building an emergency fund is another way of ensuring that you are saving money.
Emergencies come up all the time, and having such a kit ensures that you have a backup
in case of anything.
 Keeping loose change can also help you save.
Every day, throw your loose change into a container and after a while, you can deposit
it into the bank.
You will be surprised at how much you can save from that.
 Use hard cash instead of cards, especially where you have a problem with overspending.
When you need to spend a particular amount of money for a particular purpose, carry the
exact amount in hard cash and leave your cards in your house or in your car.
 Always budget for entertainment and other similar activities.
When you don’t assign them a specific percentage from your income, you are more likely to eat
into money budgeted for other things.
 Use applications that help manage money.
A variety of them are available for free on any of the stores.
With a money manager, you can track your spending right from your income, and you can use it
to budget.
Some apps offer financial advice from what they can observe from your spending.
 Write down ALL your spending, preferably in a physical book.
It might be tedious, knowing where your money goes but it gives you perspective, enough
that you know on which areas you need to reduce spending to save.
Having more money without earning more might seem impossible, but if you apply the suggestions
given, you might find that it is much easier than you thought.
Well thank you guys so much for watching and I will see you in the next one.